"What else would I be talking about? The Bacchanal. You know what
happened. You must know--everybody must by now. Mars is probably
demanding my head from Hera right now. Unless he's got more complicated
ideas like taking me apart limb by limb. I remember he mentioned that."
Diana stood up and came over to Forrester. "Why would Mars do something
like that and especially now? And what makes you think Hera would go
along with him if he did?"
"Why not? Now that I've failed my tests--"
"_Failed?_" Diana cried. "You _haven't_ failed!"
Forrester stood up shakily. "Of course I have. After what happened at
the Bacchanal, I--"
"Don't pay any attention to that," Diana said. "Mars is a louse. Always
has been, I hear. Nobody likes him. As a matter of fact, you've just
passed your finals. The last test was to see if you could figure out who
we were--and you've done that, haven't you?"
There was a long, taut silence.
Then Diana laughed. "Your face looks the way mine must have, over three
thousand years ago!"
"What are you talking about?" Still dazed, he wasn't quite sure he had
heard her rightly.
"When they told me the same thing. After the original Diana was killed
in a 'hunting accident'--frankly, she seems to have been too independent
to suit Hera--and I passed my own finals, I--"
She stopped.
"Now don't look at me like that," Diana said. "And pull yourself
together, because we've got to get to the Final Investiture. But it's
all true. I'm a substitute too."